Sunday, May 14, 2017

Rainbow colors can
help you develop greater self-awareness. They support you, as you learn to
relate better with yourself and others, inspire you to grow, and increase your
happiness.

Once you understand
your own personality, what things you prefer to do or not do, and what is
comfortable for you, it’s much easier to expand your horizons, notice you have
options, and if need be, amend your behavior to enrich the quality of daily
living.

Having alternatives
about how to behave, rather than just responding in whatever way you’re used to
doing things, gives you the freedom to act in a life-affirming way. This is
especially true if you realize that coping skills you learned as a
child or young adult have often led to frustration and dead ends.

Are you tired of repeating the same mistakes over and over again?

Here are Rainbow
Color Characteristics and Great Ways to Use Them:

Red:
excitement, passion, courage, love

Orange: social, enthusiastic, self-assurance,
playfulness

Yellow: cheerful, sunny, optimism, clarity of
thought

Green:
fresh start, wellness, stress reduction, growth

Blue: soothing, cleansing, unifying, eases
communication

Indigo: intelligence,
idealism, intuition, infinity

Violet: inspiration, wisdom, spirit, royalty

Use RED when you feel
you're stuck in a rut, lack enthusiasm, and want motivation to act.

Use ORANGE when you feel shy, are grieving, or want to be more social and
vivacious.

Use YELLOW when you feel grouchy, need cheering, or your thoughts are confused.

Use GREEN when you feel up tight, for eye strain, or want to begin your day
over.

Use BLUE when you are agitated, thirsty, nervous, and tongue tied.

Use INDIGO when you feel less than, want to stick to your principles, lose
touch with your inner knowing or your ego is too high.

Use VIOLET when you want to connect with spirit, are working to heal physical
or emotional issues, contact higher consciousness.

Colors bypass old
patterns and rationalizing. They interact with you at the cellular level. Colors
are instinctual, so envision, wear, or decorate with those that call to you. Colors are energetic powerhouses that rejuvenate, restore, encourage, and motivate you to change
attitudes as well as behaviors. Have fun as you visualize, affirm, and take in
those colors you sense you need.

Did you know rainbows are actually full circles of light? Most people view a
rainbow on the ground, and that’s why they look like a semi-circle or arc of
the rainbow that forms in the sky.

Rainbows appear
because of both reflection and refraction (bending) of light in water droplets
in the atmosphere. Rainbows can be seen not just in or after a rain shower, but
are seen in mist, spray, fog, and dew. Visibility is possible, whenever there
are water drops in the air and the light shines from behind at a 42 degree
angle (opposite from the sun). For more see Discoverykids.com
and Judy
Garland Singing Over the Rainbow on YOUTUBE.

Rainbows have been a
sign or hope, happiness, and harmony to me. The picture below is one I snapped
right after a rain storm.

The bottom part of
the color spectrum wasn’t visible at the angle where I stood. Do you know what
colors are missing? Isn’t it fun to capture a rainbow in a photo?

Perhaps when you do,
you’ll think of that pot of gold. Do you want to be the one to come along and claim it?

I wonder how many
people nowadays know this rainbow legend; at the end of every rainbow lays a
pot of gold just waiting for the right person to discover it.

I’d like to suggest a
pot of gold/treasure awaits you, each
time you learn more about yourself. That's why elements in Colors of Joy:
A Woman’s Guide for Self-Discovery, Balance, and Bliss work with you to create self-compassion, enhance well-being, and increase joy. What better
reasons could there be for you to purchase Colors of Joy?

Monday, May 1, 2017

Do the lovey-dovey Mother’s Day ads in the media make you cringe? Perhaps you can identify with me. If my emotions are left unchecked, the closer the holiday gets, the
more stressed, moody, angry, depressed, teary, and out of sorts I feel.

Some women are childless by choice. They were wise enough to
know they were financially, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually unwilling to bear and
raise children. Others may have a physical condition or personal reasons that
preclude them from bearing or raising children.

Some like me have had sketchy or
tumultuous relationships with our children or mothers, through death or
circumstances like estrangement, addiction, and mental illness. Most don't receive flowery Mother’s Day greeting cards or more than brief calls on Mother's Day. We also don't want to give empty gifts to people that don't treat us nicely. We just wish the day would disappear from the face of the calendar.

I’m one of many women who grew up in a dysfunctional family.
My mother grew up without a mother, and spent part of her childhood in an orphanage. At times, as an adult, my mother was severely depressed. She couldn't mother me in a consistently
healthful way.

I’ve taken many steps to heal the trauma I experienced as a child, and am grateful I vented, mourned, and released much of the frustration, anger, and sadness I felt about the past.

New life skills I adopted as an adult helped me reframe my concept of mother and mothering. Now I practice self-care skills that give me the love, safety, concern, and mothering I missed out on as a youngster.

When I made the decision to imagine standing in my mother’s shoes, I saw her as she was before she was a mother. It's only then that I found myself appreciating her as a whole person, someone who had her own life, her own struggles and problems to solve. When I became willing to look at my mother from a different perspective, I found forgiveness, compassion, and hope for us both.

I use the day to honor those I hold near and dear as surrogate mothers, daughters, sisters, and mentors. I celebrate the healthy choices I’ve made that empower me as a woman and bring out the best in me and my relationships. I acknowledge AND APPRECIATE THOSE WOMEN WHO ARE DOING A GOOD JOB AS MOTHERS. Chances are your children will grow up to be self-sufficient and happy in their own skin, because that's the example you are modeling for them.

Understanding these things doesn't mean I'm free of blue feelings around this time of year. Although it’s been three decades since my mother died, bittersweet memories of our life together surface now. I've learned if I truly surrender my longing to have people in my life "fill in" or "make up" for past losses and grieve those that have actually died, my blues do eventually lift. See What Mourning and Loss are Teaching Me About Resilience and Recovery.

Today I'm sharing ideas and tips that continue to help me. I envision them helping you too! Here goes...

Write and say affirmations of your own or use the ones below. Recite them aloud, when you feel blue, lonely, less than, and perceive “lack” instead of abundance. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.

I Face Challenging Situations with Grace.

I am Confident in My Own Worth and Love Myself.

I Accept My Mother and/or Children as They Are, and Affirm Our Relationships are Teaching Us Things We Need to Know.

" 17 Tips to Help You Beat Mother's Day Blues"

1.Know that you’re not alone. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Survey of 2014, 47.6 percent of
women between age 15 and 44 had never had children, up from 46.5 percent in 2012.
This represents thehighest percentage of childless womensince the bureau started
tracking that data in 1976.

3.Participate in a bereavement group. Give and get understanding from those who are in a similar situation.

4. Donate A Few Hours of Time to Help Out at a Soup Kitchen, Nursing Home, Hospital, or Visit a Shut in Neighbor, Friend, or Relative.

5.Call a loved one who lives across the miles for a phone visit
or write a handwritten note to someone you’ve lost contact with. Giving love
makes you better able to receive it.

6.Invite Someone to Join You for Brunch, Lunch, or Dinner.
Sharing a meal is a definite heart warmer. You Aren’t the Only One who May Feel
Lonely or Out of Sorts at this time of the year.

7.Spend Time Pampering Yourself. Give yourself a facial, get a deep
tissue massage, soak in a bubble bath, read a mystery, watch a DVD, or do
something you ordinarily put off doing.

8.Get out of town, book a weekend get-away to a spa or dude ranch, or any change-of-scene place you think you would enjoy. If you can't afford a vacation, visit a museum, art gallery, park, or nature trail to fill up on beauty.

9.Exercise until those endorphins kick in. Keep the good vibes
going by playing a sport or dance for fun.

10. Grab a half hour of
sunlight early in the day or before dusk, when sun’s rays are less intense.
Sunlight helps the body produce vitamin D, a mood elevator.

11.Take a nap, a good way to replenish vitality and restore your
spirit.

12.Pick wildflowers or get
yourself a bouquet of sunflowers. Yellow is s sunny color
and its energy cheers you up.

13.Attend a religious,
communal, or support group meeting to feel a sense of community and
comfort.

16.Set
up an appointment for psychological counselling. Sharing with a pro who
listens with an objective ear can help you see yourself and your situation in a
new light. Read Tips to Help You Choose a Psychologist.

17. Tap into the lovingkindness inside yourself. Be your own best friend. Focus on things you’re grateful for, affirm your talents and assets, and give yourself radical self-compassion for as long as it takes to feel better. Then continue to be gentle with yourself every day of the year.